Best 4 Tips for Sticking to Your New Year’s Resolutions

●

30 Dec 2021

2021 has been such a rough year, hasn’t it?

Take a look back and think of all the things that have happened. No matter how hard it has been, we managed to pull through.

I can’t wait for the next year to start, can you?

A new year filled with new opportunities, a better outlook on our COVID-19 situation, and of course, and new holidays to plan my breaks!

The new year also means it’s time for New Year’s Resolutions, for all of us to set goals and strive to become better people!

But change does not come easy, and tons of people find themselves giving up on their New Year’s Resolutions even before January ends.

That’s where we come in!

We’re here to tell you how you can make your goals and stick to them!

TL;DR: How To Stick To Your New Year’s Resolutions

Why Do New Year’s Resolutions Fail?

We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

Even if we weren’t the ones who failed to stick to our New Year’s Resolutions, we probably have seen or heard our friends or family who fell short and could not keep up with their resolutions.

But why do they fail?

You see, the main reason why New Year’s Resolutions fail is that our mindsets are rejecting that change.

Eventually, we just give up on the resolution we have made altogether as a result.

Different people have different reasons why their mindsets are rejecting that change.

You will only be able to change that mindset and stick to the goals you have made for the year when you understand why you are rejecting that change.

How To Stick To Your New Year’s Resolutions

Everyone wants to see changes in their life, but sometimes it can be just so hard, especially for the New Year’s Resolutions we have set out to achieve.

Even so, you definitely didn’t plan these New Year Resolutions with them failing in mind, did you?

So here are some tips to help ensure you stick to your New Year’s Resolutions this year!

1. Always Plan Ahead. Do Not Make New Year’s Resolutions Impulsively

“If You Fail to Plan, You Are Planning to Fail”

We often let the sudden rush of excitement from the New Year take over us, and as a result, we make our New Year’s Resolutions without a proper plan.

What happens next is that we try to push ourselves towards something unachievable in our current state.

Or perhaps some details of the resolutions are not clearly defined, and we become loose on the rules we have to follow.

That’s why we need a solid plan before we start setting our New Year’s Resolutions, so we have a clear idea of what we want to accomplish from it.

Open up your favourite journaling app or grab a pen and notepad. Take some time to really think about your New Year’s Resolution and what you want to achieve from it.

Overall, just make sure you have a solid plan for achieving your New Year Resolution, and you can be sure it will last for the long term.

2. Don’t Give Up at the Slightest Bit of Discomfort. Change Is Never Easy

Change is not easy, and sometimes you feel like, “maybe I’m doing something wrong”, but that’s perfectly normal.

For example, you want to exercise more as your New Year’s Resolution, naturally, you will feel the pain and tiredness when you start exercising regularly.

But that doesn’t mean you should stop!

In fact, it means you should persevere and work harder to achieve what you set out to do in your New Year’s Resolutions. (Remember to take breaks if you need!)

Likewise, after you have planned for your New Year’s Resolution, it might feel daunting at the very beginning.

But similar to building a new habit, things will get easier over time as you keep doing it, so don’t give up when things feel tough!

3. Reframe Your New Year’s Resolutions in a More Positive Way

Let’s begin this tip with a simple exercise: For the next five minutes, don’t think about the word “dog”.

There’s no way you didn’t think about the word “dog”. If you didn’t, you’re most likely lying.

When planning for New Year’s Resolutions, a common thing that people do is to tell themselves things like, “I want to do less of this” or “I want to stop doing that”.

However, what that does is to keep reminding yourself of what you want to avoid.

Rather than trying to restrict or control yourself, think of your New Year’s Resolution as a way to start a new habit. This way, you look at it as nurturing a positive new habit.

For example, instead of making your New Year’s Resolution, “I want to stop spending so much”, try something like, “I want to better manage my finances”.

By reframing it as something positive, you will feel better about committing to that resolution.

4. Gather Support From the People Around You

Often, New Year’s Resolutions can fail due to the fact that you do not have support from your peers.

One of the ways to help ensure your New Year’s Resolutions do not fail is to do it with your friends/family.

See, a few benefits can be derived from working to achieve New Year’s Resolutions together with others.

Firstly, the support from others can help encourage you to work on improving yourself, which is helpful, especially if you are planning some long-term goals.

Secondly, when you strive to achieve a New Year’s Resolution together, all of you can keep each other going if anyone has difficulties keeping up with the resolution.

Some Financial Goals To Set For The New Year

As all of you know, Seedly is all about helping you with your personal finance, and here are some financial goals which are perfect for setting as your New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Start Investing

Time to start building your investment portfolios!

Especially when you want to keep up with inflation and the high costs of living here in Singapore, relying solely on your monthly income is not enough.

Furthermore, your returns grow a lot more when you start early due to the power of compound interest.

If you are unsure of where to start, here’s a quick and helpful guide to help you get started with investing!

2. Manage Your Finances

Tell yourself, “I want to save more money!”

Time to cut back on some unnecessary purchases or start managing your finances.

Think it’s impossible with how expensive things are in Singapore? Did you know that it’s actually possible to survive on $600 a month here?

A few good ways to start managing your finances would be with the 50-30-20 budgeting method or the six jars financial management system!

3. Plan For Retirement

Retirement in Singapore is not impossible!

As we mentioned earlier, everyone should start planning for their retirement as early as possible to take advantage of compound interest.

In fact, with proper financial planning as well as consistent savings, you will be able to save up for a comfortable retirement!

Some ways to start saving for your retirement can be to deposit them in your Central Provident Fund (CPF), or to start your Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) account!